First Birthdays, cake, and ordering things from Etsy...

We celebrated my Nephew Noah’s first birthday this past weekend.  I was in charge of the cake and I wanted to do something special.  I did some poking around and decided to order a custom cake topper from a seller on Etsy.  I really try to purchase things like this from independent sellers, you usually get personal service and things are shipped quickly.  I have an Etsy shop and whenever I get an order things are done in the time frame I give and I always, always, ALWAYS ship priority mail.  Always.

I ordered this custom topper on May 28th, I needed it by June 7th at the very latest and let the shop owner know this.  After not hearing anything for a few days I contacted her again on June 3 and she asks me what the order was for again, so I send it to her again.  I emailed her again on June 5th asking her WTH was going on with my order because I needed it by Friday and get a message back that it was shipped Monday followed by another message with the tracking #.  My order, which came from Illinois was shipped first class mail and she was under the impression it would arrive Wednesday or Thursday.  Thursday night I'm in a panic when I return home from work and there’s nothing from her in the mail, the tracking information is saying the package is somewhere in NJ and I’m in full on panic mode.

Friday it rained cats and dogs, I had the day off work so I could work on last minute things for the birthday party before I have to pick up The Kid from school and get over to my cousin’s so I can help her set up and get these cakes baked off..  I busied myself in the morning getting ingredients together and packing up weekend stuff for myself and the kid and straightening up.

Noon rolls around and no mail yet, finally I check my email around 2 and just after 1pm I got a message from the USPA that the mail was delivered.  I ran outside in the pouring rain to get the mail and my landlord and his wife were pulling into the driveway.  As I'm rummaging through the mailbox and he tells me that a package was left on the porch in the rain and he brought it inside, and there it is.

Granted, it was perfect.  It was just what I wanted.  But I will Never ever order from this seller again.  There is nothing more frustrating than having to wait for something you ordered well in advance.

The cake came out fantastic with a vanilla layer on the bottom Chocolate on top and a layer of smooth eggless cookie dough in the middle.

I wish I had some pictures of Noah gobbling up that cake, it was awesome.

Noah's Big Brother's birthday party is next month, I want to order another topper, but this time I'll order it from ebay where I can rely on seller ratings and order well in advance just for good measure.

Happy Mother's Day!

It doesn't matter if the kids in your life call you mom, aunt, purr or bark, love is love.

Mother's Day is bittersweet for me and I don't really celebrate, it's just another Sunday in my book.  My first Mother's day as a mom was my first without my mom. I only had my mom for seventeen years, some are blessed to have their moms longer, some less, some never knew their moms at all.

 After almost 18 years I still remember all the things my mom did for me, the lessons she taught me and most of all how much she loved me unconditionally.


To all the wonderful mom's out there, I hope you all have a beautiful day!

Help stamp out hunger Saturday May 11,2013

It's easy to help:

1. Collect and bag non perishable food items 

2. Place by mailbox for letter carrier to deliver to a local food bank or pantry. 

Facebook.com/StampOutHunger

Chickpea salad with parsley, lemon and sun dried tomatoes

Sorry I've been so MIA lately. Sheesh.

My cousin had a dedication party for my nephew Noah two weekends ago. With less than a week to prepare it was a little crazy but we managed.

I was in charge of the cake and making salads. I made a vanilla cake with a cookie dough center and I also made a tortellini salad as well as a chickpea salad and all were a huge hit.

I'll post about the cake another day, this cake came out well but not exactly as planned. Noah's birthday is coming up in a little more than a month and I'll be doing a similar cake but with a twist.

I went and doubled both salads but about half an hour in I'd realized that clearly wasn't enough. Next time I'll have to multiply the ingredient list by probably 4-6 times.

Chickpea salad with parsley, lemon and sun dried tomatoes
(From Bon appétite)

1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbs cumin seeds

2 15.5oz cans chickpeas
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 C chopped fresh parsley
1/3 C thinly sliced oil packed sun dried tomatoes (I found them already julienned in a jar)
1/4 C fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper

Combine oil and cumin seeds in a small, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool completely.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add cumin oil and toss to blend. Season salad with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Best if made the night before. Bring to room temp before serving.

*the next time I make this I'll probably add a little red onion and instead of canned use dried beans that I've prepared in advance.

Lalala Lemon Bars make me happy :)

Look at this sunshiny yellow, how could this Not make you happy? 

(Ok, granted, I hate yellow, but I LOVE lemon)

I went to the local wholesale store with my sweetie last weekend on a grocery/stock up run and they had lemons for $2 a bag (8 lemons in a bag, that's a bargain considering at the grocery store they're up around $.75 each)  I knew I wanted to make lemon bars, I haven't made them in ages!! Today when I left to do my regular Saturday chores I took 2 sticks of butter out of the freezer and knew by the time I was back they'd be up to room temperature so I could get the lemon bars dome when I get home.

This recipe is super simple and So good!

Crust

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 lemons, juiced



1. Preheat oven to 350°f
2. In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.
4. Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool.